antiterror13
Brigadier
Look good and high quality of workmanship. The first 052D from Dalian .... it took almost 3.5 years from launch to commission, the longest so far
052C/052D Class Destroyers
- Thread starter Jeff Head
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Look good and high quality of workmanship. The first 052D from Dalian .... it took almost 3.5 years from launch to commission, the longest so far
The 172 Kunming berthed in Jiangnan doing maintenance. She is currently sitting between two Type 055, not shown. Note that the scaffolding around her radar and her mast, which may point to the two as subjects for maintenance and maybe even an upgrade. Posted by LKJ86 at the PDF.
i don't think its a mid life upgrade, but the Kunming is the first of the 052Ds, and maybe its about time it needs some maintenance and updates. They did it to the Liaoning.
antiterror13
Brigadier
what make you think it was a mid-life upgrade?
The scaffolding around the main mast seemed like work for upgrading major electronic components, and since there isn't any indication of a mishap that might've happened on her during operational times, it looked out of place for her to be undergoing any electronic suite refit so soon...
Also, radar tech is the fastest advancing module on chinese ships, so they could've just decided to try out an assortment of new and more capable systems on her since its lead ship of her class.
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I believe we've seen past in service 052C/Ds having maintenance and refit in recent years as well; all obviously too early to be for mid life upgrades.
Having scaffolding around the superstructure and mast doesn't necessarily mean it's a MLU.
In what way then do you think it is undergoing maintenance?
I won't call it an MLU, just like Liaoning got upgrades to her communications, ESM and ECM equipment, I would call it more like update.
Maybe the Kunming will get the version of the Type 346A without the boom, who knows. I already pointed out in the CDF, that three of the 052C have upgraded their ESM. Maybe the Kunming will get the ESM upgrade too.
.... In the way that all ships in service have to do every few years?
Obviously we are not privy to the details but we can make some sensible deductions for whether it's an MLU or something less extreme like maintenance, based on the appearance of the ship and the timing of the event.